Various Bits of info'

A few things are happening on the bike club side of things, despite the fact that winter is upon us.

First off, the local Rotary club has contacted me and asked that I attend a meeting on Monday, Dec. 21st at 6pm, City Hall. There, they will put forth a proposal to fund several new multi-use trail systems within the City of Penticton. These will likely resemble the existing 1.5 meter wide paved walkways that shadow Penticton Creek – but don’t quote me on that until I hear exactly what they have in mind.

I welcome this proposal as I strongly support separated bike / walk paths. My personal experience in Vancouver and Whistler has been extremely positive and I feel that this should be high on the list of amenities in the city. Anyone who wants to attend this discussion should take the time to be at City Hall at the described time.

Secondly, I have joined the Transportation Demand Committee, chaired by councilor Gary Litke. This group will also deal with inter-city routes. It looks like early proposals [might] include separate, paved routes between the Okanagan Events Centre and downtown as well as Downtown and the newly expanded Okanagan College.

What else; hmm, I’ve been asked by a cat from Calgary to lay out a course between Penticton and Kelowna, perhaps extending to Vernon – for a massive three-day cross-country race event. I have a quality route in mind and have replied positively to this individual. Time will tell if he is as serious about organizing this potential event as he sounds…

I’m also a newly minted member of the ‘Community Sport Tourism Development Program’. These individuals are keen to put together a proposal that [might] see a substantial logistical, financial and administrative support structure implemented in the community.

Hard to say where this will lead as its all paperwork at this point, but if everything were to fall into place it would mean that the Federalies really kick in to make this valley a lot more of a sport-tourism destination. They look at it from the perspective of ‘heads in beds’ and ‘butts in chairs’ – we see it from the point of view of more land access, trails, signage and event support.

Closing thoughts; 2010 looks to be a breakthrough year for the club. Between the aforementioned programs, the 2010 Bike Festival and potentially a world-class race event – PACA is going places!

Andrew